Affordable multimeter

[Vvmvbb]

Agilent isn't usually in the 'affordable' category, but you might have a look.

Agilent

We have two of the old blue U1250 series out in the lab which are of course excellent and every bit as popular as the Flukes.

But there is the U1241B which might be interesting and is approaching affordable.

I'd still favor Flukes, but for an alternative...

 

[Gary Indiana]

Harbor Freight DMM about $5 on sale or FREE after coupon.

These are good basic meters, come with battery. Manual range.

HF coupon thread in here.

But, if you can afford spending $50 nothing beats a used Fluke.

 

[Old Engineer]

Zoom and I have PM'd. We are "out of the mud", and all is well. BTW, as you can see from the number of posts I have I am new here. Let me tell you how I found this site.

In the past year, I have have 3 contractors out to do some work for me, some AC and electrical. I was surprised to see that ALL 3 of them were carrying Klein meters. I didn't know Klein made meters, but I knew Klein was respected tool company that made USA products. That made me wonder if they made USA meters. I started to do some research, and found the USA MM5000 and MM6000. When I did a search on them, to find a review, this thread came up. I ended up buying the MM5000. Since I found out about it on this thread, I thought I would join the site, and offer a review if anyone wanted one. I found this site to be interesting, and thought I would stick around. Never dreamed I would start a Ideal/Klein/Fluke debate.

As a side note, the first meter I ever purchased was a B&K, made in Chicago, back in 1976. I still have that meter, and it still works.

 

[Hootbro]

I working in Aviation manufacturing as an Avionics engineer and am exposed to multiple levels of multimeters and test equipment. The production lines and engineering design labs are almost all Fluke. What I found interesting was that almost all the techs who supported the equipment in the Engineering labs used Ideal meters.

I asked the techs who supported the labs why they used Ideal meters? The most common response was because they had to pay for their tools and could not afford a Fluke and and Ideal was the next best. But given the chance, they would be all Fluke themselves.

I have played with some of the Ideal multimeters and while they do the basics fine, there is a certain lack of refinement in the Ideal meters from the display updates being slower than a fluke and many of the comparable Ideal models lack true hands off hold and bar line display that most Flukes will have.

 

[redwrench60]

Does Ideal rebrand any meters for any other companies?

 

[Old Engineer]

I have played with some of the Ideal multimeters and while they do the basics fine, there is a certain lack of refinement in the Ideal meters from the display updates being slower than a fluke and many of the comparable Ideal models lack true hands off hold and bar line display that most Flukes will have.

Hootbro,

Many of the Klein meters, including the USA ones, have the "hands off hold" (they call it auto-hold), and the bargraph. These are also half the price of Flukes. You, or the techs you speak of, should look into the Kleins.

 

[SC-AW11]

Thank you sir. One of the most helpful posts.

Depends on what you're going to do with it.

If you just want something to get you through school Craftsman, Extech or Ideal will do the job at a low cost. Amprobe, Simpson and Fieldpiece are middle tier as far as cost and are good reliable meters for professional use. Flu

ke was for many years the gold standard of professional meters and in many cases, still are, but the they are priced accordingly.

Over the past 25 years, I've owned all of the above brands and my Flukes are the only ones I still own, in fact...I still own the first two I bought and they still work twenty years later (despite being shelved years ago due to my abilities and job requirements outgrowing their capabilities). So, if you're looking for something that's going to last decades, they are probably the way to go..

Ya I blew the fuse not paying attention and listening to someone else. Im not an idiot I swear lol I got a 4.0 last semester. I know how to do voltage drops, resistances checks (power off), amps (have to connect meter in series). I will be in the automotive field to make a living so I was basically looking on suggestions if I should replace the fuse really quick on a decent meter, or upgrade to one that will last me a bit in the field, before ultimately ending with a Fluke 87 or 88.

Off topic but I like fault finders, the couple times Ive used them they didnt really pin point it, but more so just confirmed I had a short, which is what I wanted, to confirm or rule out. A guy I know got pissed cus he said the thing wouldnt tell him where the short was. Im not an expert by far, I did notice it beeps differently when it seemed to get closer to the short? (which in this case was a bulb) but I told him its like a DTC codes, they dont pin point the problem but they point you in the right direction.
Anyone have feedback on fault finders?

And I hear really good things about, and can't wait to get my hands on a logic/power probe.

 

[Hootbro]

Hootbro,

Many of the Klein meters, including the USA ones, have the "hands off hold" (they call it auto-hold), and the bargraph. These are also half the price of Flukes. You, or the techs you speak of, should look into the Kleins.

I can mention it but half the time they grab the Flukes off the bench when they are doing the console work. The service techs for the engineering labs are union guys anyways and the are like lemmings falling off a cliff, they follow the next ******* in front of them and whatever he has in name brand tools, they all follow suite.

 

[SC-AW11]

I'll tell you what, I will send SC-AW11 a free multimeter to make up to all those I have angered. All he has to do is PM me his address, and he gets a free multimeter.
You can check back with him to see that I am a man of my word.
Once again, I apologize... (but the engineer thing was really just a joke, I originally heard it about lawyers, I thought it was funny, sorry...)
Old Engineer, I apologize to you specifically, when it is pointed out to me I am being an ***, I try to listen and do the right thing. Therefore, I sincerely apologize to you Sir, it won't happen again.

Mr Zoomieport is definitely a man of his word:


http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008SEPOCO/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I havent used it much yet but so far I really like it. It is decently weighted, not too heavy but you can tell its far from cheap. One of the things I like off the bat, it has a ambient light sensor. When covered or in a dark space, it turns the backlight on automatically. and with a fast response time too. It comes with software and a cable to connect to your computer as well. I will use it more, have others like my instructors and our tool room guy use it, and I'll be posting a review. I am super thankful, I would like to thank Mike, zoomieport, once again for sending me an Ideal multimeter. He definitely didn't have to do that. I appreciate it more thank you know Mike.

 

[zkling]

WOW, that is one HECK of a meter. If you can't figure it out with that, then you must be really deep. Probably the last meter that you will ever need.

That was very nice of zoomieport to do that. Definitely not needed, but I am sure extremely appreciated. Way beyond the meter, the OP would have been able to get based on his initial budget.

 

[zoomieport]

Hopefully, it will be the last one he ever needs... Work safe ALL!!!

 

[Old Engineer]

Well done zoomieport!!

Sending a free $400 meter is a sweet gift for the OP.

 

[zoomieport]

Well done zoomieport!!

Sending a free $400 meter is a sweet gift for the OP.

Work safe and take care!

 

[garboui]

Fluke 115 is a great budget minded fluke. Can be had for under $150 new from Newark.com when they have their specials on.

Bought a bunch of these a few years ago for our lab and not a single hiccup on any of them.